Pages

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Editing done and research begun

* * Update: This is an old post so some of the links in this post is broken. Here is a new resource for you from Reedsy, to help you on your writing journey, https://blog.reedsy.com/scams-and-publishing-companies-to-avoid/. I had just spent that last week in my room editing the crap out of my novel the Amaranthine. There was not as much to fix as I had initially thought, but it was pretty bad. I am at the 'I hate you stage' of my editing now. I had to really push myself to get the editing done, as I am currently unemployed, which mean lots of time for editing and when I do get a job soon, my writing may suffer again.

I was curious and started looking at a few literary agent's websites, just for curiosity and man have things changed. These days there are online submission forms and most agents ask for electronic submissions only, which I like by the way. I noticed that the agents I looked at only asked for query letters. They didn't want to see a synopsis or sample pages, which means more pressure in getting my query letter just right.

Though, I have a strategy this time. I am only querying agents that are on the Preditors and Editors website and a member of the AAR (The Association of Author's Representatives). If an agent does not have a website with information, such as clients and book sales, I am passing. This time I am only querying the best of the best, which could mean that I might not get representation at all, as your writing has to be pretty ground shaking to secure representation, but better safe than sorry.

I have this fear this time around that I didn't have before. This time I am so afraid of the whole process. Of the rejections. The fact that nobody might like my book but me. The fact that I might have spent 5 years on a project that is never going to happen. I looked back at my old rejection letters and 99% of the letters said, "I am not the right agent for this project, but I encourage you to keep querying, as the the publishing business is subjective." This means that there is still hope for my book, right?

I am going to take a break from editing and go back with a fresh pair of eyes at a later stage. For now, I guess I will do my research about which agents to query in the future.

You will find exactly the right person to represent your book this time, Murees. Remember when someone rejects your work, it's only one person's opinion so don't let that carry a lot of weight. Focus on the positive and things will be easier for you.

I am at the "This isht is boring" stage in my own writing. But we have to work through those stages. Maybe give it to another person for a fresh perspective. Since being on google+ and getting to know so many self published authors, I'm thinking that self publishing may be a viable option.